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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
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13 minutes by Sarah Pinborough - review

13 Minutes is a book made perfectly for fans of gripping books such as Only Ever Yours, with the mix of Pretty Little Liars, dangerous secrets and rotten friendship.

Tasha was a queen of school. Or - better to say - Barbie, with her two ‘best friends forever’ Hayley and Jenny. Everybody admires her, wants to be friends with her and literally BE her. Then how is it possible that she was found in freezing water, dead for thirteen minutes?

To tell the truth, she wasn’t always a blonde girl, with fashionable clothes and fashionable accessories (sorry, I meant friends). She was befriended with Rebecca, clever, but a little bit chubby girl with a brain to play chess perfectly. But because of her puppy fat, she didn’t suit Tasha’s popularity anymore. So she let her go. And started to gain popularity even more.

Now Becca and Tasha are totally different. Becca smokes a lot, has a beloved boyfriend and one best friend Hannah. She doesn’t care about The Barbies anymore. But when the accident happens, something changes. Tasha wants Becca’s help, because she thinks that Jenny and Hayley had something to do with her nearly drowning. It’s true that they have been acting strangely recently. But Tasha doesn’t remember anything about that night, and she needs Becca to help her remember. And something inside Becca brokes. She discovers that she wanted her presence, her friendship.

13 minutes

But is everything the way it seems? Or are there some more secrets to show?

I have to say that this book really is a page-turner. As I said above, it is a mix of Pretty Little Liars and Only Ever Yours, which are my favourite books. It shows us different aspects of girls’ minds - in one chapter Becca is telling us her view of the accident and in the next Tasha is showing us hers. We can see how the minds of girls change, how they think, and how they are slowly recovering from this strange accident which caused a lot of pain, but also a created a lot of hidden secrets. And believe me, one day, they are going to be revealed... It can’t stay like this forever.

A shock comes half way through the book, when everything you expected becomes false. And you can think again. Now, the main question is: who is bad, and who is good? Nothing is as it seems.

I would recommend this book to everyone who loves gripping books, and loves the thrill which occurs every time you open this book. Because, really - you don’t even know how someone can be so clever, and on the other hand so cruel. But no more spoilers. Try it yourself. You won’t be disappointed.

• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop

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